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- Oregon Universities Water News
- Year of Water News
- Oregon Water Events
- Oregon Water News
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Inst. for Water & Watersheds
Oregon State University
234 Strand Ag Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331-2208
Phone: 541-737-9918
iww@oregonstate.edu
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Oregon Universities Water News
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Local and indigenous populations the world over ascribe deeply and explicitly spiritual attributes to water. Springs, wells, and rivers are the homes of deities, have divine healing powers, and enhance processes of spiritual transformation. These attributes are rarely expressed in global declarations related to sustainable water management and are found only implicitly in a handful of international water treaties. This paper uses a multi-scalar lens to identify areas of disconnect between community-specific intrinsic and spiritual dimensions of water, regional management institutions or international agreements, and global conventions. The scale-based structure of the article highlights the systems-based connections, and disconnections, from global to local-scopes of dimensions of water enshrined in different institutions.
Authors: E. Lynn Porta and Aaron T. Wolf, Oregon State University
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Oregon State University is one of three institutions worldwide selected to host a five-year international training program to support climate leaders within national governments in meeting goals established under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
“The training will reach individuals who make substantial contributions to national-level climate policy and implementation efforts and could benefit from additional support,” said Erica Fleishman, an Oregon State professor who is leading the university’s effort. “Oregon State is an international leader in climate change research and policy evaluation, making us a natural fit for a program like this.”
The Climate Action and Support Transparency Training Adaptation Academy is an initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, and the Corvallis-based Alliance for Global Water Adaptation.
The Adaptation Academy will offer instruction on planning, executing and evaluating progress on nationally determined contributions to reducing the threat of climate change, said Fleishman, who also is director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute.
Oregon State primarily will train representatives from North, Central and South American and Caribbean countries, with an emphasis on lower-income countries that have fewer existing training resources, Fleishman said. The IHE Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands will serve the Africa-Europe region, and the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand will serve the Asia-Pacific region.
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Oregon is becoming less resilient to drought as fewer seasons of abundant rain and snow prevent it from bouncing back from hot and dry conditions, experts say.
The current drought is “historically significant,” with about three-quarters of the state experiencing conditions considered “extreme” or “exceptional,” said Larry O’Neill, state climatologist at Oregon State University.
However, the state is actually in the fourth year of below-average precipitation, which has exacerbated the drought during “unprecedentedly” high temperatures this summer, O’Neill told the Oregon Water Resources Commission on Aug. 25.
“We don’t recover from droughts as quickly as we did previously,” he said. “We seem to be in perpetual drought. The baseline has basically changed.”
However, droughts are judged by historical standards, so the concept of such “recurrence intervals” grows less valid as dry periods become more common, he said.
“It’s going to take some time to get used to the new normal we’re experiencing right now,” O’Neill said.
The state needs to give more thought to dealing with drought conditions over the longer term and helping communities adapt to the problem by developing redundant water supplies, said Tom Byler, OWRD’s director.
“What we need is to break out of reacting in an emergency mode to these situations,” he said.
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Bend artist Anne Gibson is a newly minted member of Tumalo Art Co., the artist-run gallery in the Old Mill District of Bend. She’s also the featured artist for the month [September], where several of her water-related works opened last week in “Up the Falling Waters.”
Gibson has a knack for capturing on canvas the essence of some of her favorite places, including Paulina and Tumalo creeks.
“I do tend to paint a lot of water,” Gibson said. And like a stream’s eventual path to the ocean, she “took this long, circuitous route” to arrive where she is in her art career, she said.
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Join us for a future-focused, cross-border conference organized by The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLEBC), Mediate BC, CoRe Conflict Resolution Society, and the ADR Section of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA).
The conference will offer a mix of practical skill building workshops and examinations of conflict resolution theory across disciplines. It will explore the wide range of ways in which individuals, organizations, and nations create artificial borders that lead to, intensify, and prolong conflict. Presenters will be drawn from both sides of the Canada/US border as we seek commonalities and opportunities for greater knowledge exchange across practice areas and lived experiences.
Register here.
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2021 VACCINE Webinar Series
This new “VACCINE” webinar series follows upon last spring’s popular “COVID” webinar series. You can view recordings of last year’s webinars at Water Right Video Handbook or Guide
A preliminary list of the new topics is posted here:
Tuesday, October 19---How to Change or Remove an Easement (Ditch, Road, Well Share) from Real Estate.
Tuesday, November 9—Should or Can You Take Stormwater Into Your Existing System?
Get on the mailing list here for registrations.
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This year's event will feature sessions on the transformation of the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, the Astoria waterfront bridge replacement project, land surveying behind the development of master plan communities, engineering behind failure analysis, the Bureau of Land Management’s Cadastral Surveying program, and more!
Water-related projects that will be presented include Hillsboro's Microhydropower Energy Project and Fish Passage and Aquatic Habitat Reconnection.
Register and conference schedule here.
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Universities Council on Water Resources
Fall 2021 Virtual Roundtable Series
Wednesday, September, 22, 2021
12:00 - 1:15pm CDT
"International Collaborations"
Reserve your seat today! Register here by sending an email to the host.
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For our 30th year, we continue the tradition of gathering the most active, diverse, and experienced Oregon water law experts to address the issues of the day.
Our program will provide an update on recent water-related legislative and administrative developments, along with discussions of the key issues driving water policy. Practitioners from a wide array of viewpoints will address complex water supply and management challenges in several of Oregon’s watersheds, along with other recent decisions involving water distribution, water access, storage permits, and hydropower licensing.
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The Oregon Association of Water Utilities (OAWU)’s mission is to provide service, support and solutions for Oregon water & wastewater utilities to meet the challenges of today & tomorrow.
H2Oregon is the official publication of the Oregon Association of Water Utilities, and is published quarterly for distribution to representatives of rural and municipal suppliers.
Yes, we borrowed the name of their quarterly magazine for our monthly newsletter. Thanks for not suing us!
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A group of water wonks broke ground on a new groundwater system that will allow Gresham residents to enjoy quality, affordable drinking water long into the future.
The city of Gresham and Rockwood Water People's Utility District came together Tuesday morning, Aug. 17, to celebrate a new 6-million-gallon reservoir at the Rockwood Water District Office, 19601 N.E. Halsey St. The construction is the latest in a sweeping new system that will allow Gresham to officially break away from the Bull Run Reservoir and the city of Portland.
"We are so proud of the collaboration our agencies have had over the years," said Gresham Mayor Travis Stovall. "This (groundwater system) is something that will be the envy of other communities."
Gresham currently purchases the majority of its potable water from the city of Portland through a 20-year wholesale buyer contract, enjoying the popular Bull Run water.
But the Bull Run is one of the last remaining unfiltered public water sources in the country, and due to ongoing detections of the parasite cryptosporidium, a mandate has been made to design and construct a new treatment system. The water filtration plant is anticipated to cost between $820 million and $1.2 billion, and is scheduled to become operational in 2027.
As a wholesale buyer, Gresham's rates would have increased with costs related to the new filtration plant being built in Boring.
"We are not unique here — other wholesale customers have jumped off the system," said Steve Fancher, assistant city manager.
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Despite desperate drought conditions for reservoirs and irrigators, the aquifer holding Jefferson County's pristine Opal Springs water still gushes forth.
"We've been monitoring our water source at Opal Springs, and we have not had any noticeable impact from current drought conditions," says Joel Gehrett, manager of the Deschutes Valley Water District. "We continue to monitor source water conditions daily."
When the normal or better snowpack this winter didn't result in better stream flows, some wondered if the moisture shortage was depleting aquifers in the Deschutes Basin.
"The water table is dropping, but it's not dropping at a dramatic rate," says Gorman. "There are some places in the state that have seen levels drop over 400 feet. That's the time we've got to change what we're doing."
Gorman says those drops are occurring in Northeast Oregon. Water conditions underground look good for Central Oregon. "The saturated thickness in the aquifer here in the Deschutes Basin in some places is probably greater than 1,000 feet," says Gorman. "So, we have a very robust aquifer that's being recharged continually."
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There’s a strip of moist ground in Baker County that’s being exposed to the air after more than three decades under the water.
And if things keep on as they have been, a bit more land might emerge for the first time in better than half a century.
These patches form the shoreline of Phillips Reservoir, along the Powder River in Sumpter Valley, about 17 miles southwest of Baker City.
The reservoir, created by the completion of Mason Dam in 1968 and designed to store water for irrigation and flood control, has been depleted by drought to its lowest level since late October 1988.
And if the reservoir recedes slightly farther, ground will be revealed that has been covered by water since 1968, the year the dam began to impound the Powder River.
George Chandler, a Baker Valley rancher and longtime board member for the Baker Valley Irrigation District, which manages the reservoir, said the fall of 1988 is the only time he’s seen Phillips so low.
That’s also the only other time Chandler recalls that the intake, the concrete structure near the dam where water drains to flow through the dam and into the river below, was exposed.
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Senator Jeff Merkley capped his 'infrastructure tour' of the state near Redmond Friday morning, standing by some giant pipes at the kickoff of Phase 2 of the latest Central Oregon Irrigation District canal piping project.
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Peel compiled a list of people with the highest water usage in the Portland Water Bureau and the Palatine Hill Water District, which serves the Dunthorpe neighborhood. She starts with why she compiled that list.
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Helpful hint - To open video, scroll down when window is opened.
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Jesce Horton, CEO of cannabis grower Lowd in Portland, Oregon, sees the environmental concerns around climate change as a looming threat. To combat water waste, he uses a water-reclamation system.
His dehumidifiers and air conditioners are connected to a system that recaptures water and routes it back to the company’s cold-water storage tank.
“Water availability and quality of water is always a concern of mine because it’s so important,” Horton said.
He tries to operate his grow with minimal runoff. In contrast to Hitchcock, Horton uses small pots with larger plants, creating a limited, concentrated root zone that helps save water.
Lowd is also in the process of designing a rainwater-catchment system.
“We’re making sure we’re part of the solution,” he said. “We have to be more environmentally conscious than the rest of the industries.
“We have got to focus on being a better industry and not just another industry.”
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A new report identifies some of the most ecologically important rivers in Oregon.
Conservation Science Partners looked at 54,000 miles of unprotected rivers and streams in Oregon, highlighting watersheds with outstanding water quality, recreational value and that support rare or at-risk species.
More than 5,700 river miles were in the range of at least 30 aquatic Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
Caitlin Littlefield, lead scientist for Conservation Science Partners, said many rivers are under threat as the climate warms and a growing population places more demands on fresh water sources.
"Despite that importance and those threats, though, there are very few rivers and streams that are currently protected from those increasing threats," Littlefield explained. "And so, this report strives to identify the 'best of the best river' segments and key places to conserve across Oregon."
The report, commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts, analyzes rivers for their potential for state Outstanding National Resource Water or state Wild and Scenic River designation. Only about 2% of Oregon rivers have the highest federal protections as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
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It’s been a tough year for the Klamath River.
The Klamath, which flows through Oregon and Northern California and into the Pacific Ocean, is suffering from drought and infrastructure problems. That’s caused trouble, not just for the fish in the river, but also for the tribes and farmers who rely on it for day-to-day living.
Drought conditions are so bad this year that the U.S. Department of Agriculture allocated $15 million to support farmers who don’t have enough water for their crops. Klamath Basin tribes are also struggling to feed their people, but so far they haven’t received such support. In fact, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council cut back the Yurok Tribe’s salmon allotment to little more than half of what is needed.
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The Oregon Water Resources Department is asking Oregonians who rely on wells for their water use to report their dry wells or low-producing wells online.
Visit their Dry Well webpage at www.oregon.gov/owrd/drywell and click on the link to report your dry well.
Reported information helps the department understand changes in aquifers across the state and how the drought is impacting groundwater supplies and those that rely on groundwater. In addition, the reported information helps state and local agencies to identify where assistance may be needed. The Department will utilize the information to understand the scope of people affected and distribute information to affected well owners if any assistance becomes available.
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While most of Oregon’s irrigators elsewhere are in dire straits, water users in Umatilla and Morrow counties have not been greatly affected by this summer’s drought.
Sean Kimbrel, the Bureau of Reclamation Umatilla field office manager, said McKay Creek Reservoir was slightly above average for this time of year.
“Water storage in Umatilla County is in better shape than the rest of Oregon,” Kimbrel said. “Irrigation districts have close to a complete water supply.”
According to the Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region Umatilla River Basin Storage and Flow Diagram, McKay Reservoir is 42% full.
McKay Dam has 65,534 acre-feet active storage capacity plus 6,000 acre-feet of space exclusive for flood risk management above the normal full pool.
McKay Reservoir typically peaks the third week of May. This year, the maximum stored water was 64,176 acre-feet, a bit below last year’s maximum of 69,242 acre-feet.
“Irrigation water supplies will be close to if not completely fulfilled this year from reclamation facilities to contracted water users in the Umatilla River Basin, which is much better in comparison to the very limited irrigation water supplies across the rest of Oregon as a result of drought conditions,” Kimbrel said.
One of the reasons the reservoir is still around average for late August is the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation haven’t released water for fish yet.
“CTUIR is about to ramp-up fish water releases in the Umatilla,” Kimbrel said.
While the Cold Springs Reservoir is below average right now at 12% capacity, it is fulfilled by wintertime diversions from the Umatilla River with minimum flows maintained for fish, which are exchanged with summertime pumping from the Columbia River, Kimbrel said.
Morrow County’s Willow Creek Reservoir outside Heppner is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers primarily for flood control. Its downstream use is primarily irrigation.
Tom Conning, public affairs specialist for the Corps’ Portland District, said the reservoir is filled with snowmelt and rainfall. Its peak storage is between April 1 and May 15. This year’s drought has greatly affected its levels.
“At this point of the year, it should be close to full, but it’s 90% below full,” he said.
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Macy Farms has about a million dollars invested in its potato crop. The owner planted the potatoes before the irrigation district cut their already meager water allotment by 10%, then cut it back another 10%, then shut water off completely two months earlier than usual.
The North Unit Irrigation District plans to deliver water to farmers again for two weeks in October.
Mike Macy says their potato harvest can't wait that long.
"We usually start in a typical year about September 15," says Macy.
So, the Macys turned to the Deschutes Valley Water District, which supplies water from Opal Springs to much of Jefferson County. It's the water most of us use to drink, cook, bathe, water our lawns and wash our cars.
This year, for the first time ever, DVWD shared its domestic water supply with irrigators in Jefferson County.
"Once the governor issued a drought declaration for this area, the district's board of directors made a decision to offer help to NUID," says DVWD Manager Joel Gehrett, "in support of the community and local farmers."
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With a view of the Coast Range and vineyards dotting its hillside, Banks, Oregon checks a lot of boxes when it comes to idyllic small towns. It’s a charming city not far from Hillsboro and has potential to grow, but its limited water supply is preventing new homes from being built.
In December 2018, the city realized its water supply was so low, it couldn’t support any additional building. The city’s water transmission line was, and still is, losing 1 million gallons of water a month through leaks.
“It’s a 60-year-old line. It wasn’t meant to last 60 years” explained Banks Mayor Stephanie Jones. “So we’ve got as much use out of it as we possibly could.”
In an effort to prevent any additional strain on its water resources, the city placed a moratorium on construction, meaning any project that wasn’t already in the works was on pause until the moratorium was lifted.
Mayor Stephanie Jones poses for a photo in Banks City Hall on July 21, 2021. (KOIN)
The state of Oregon only allows cities to keep moratoriums like this for two years, but Banks has filed extensions and it’s still not ready to lift it.
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The Columbia River’s Bradford Island moved a step closer on Wednesday to getting on the nation’s list of top-priority toxic cleanup sites, following the Biden administration’s proposal to designate it as a Superfund site.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the move on Wednesday for the island at the Bonneville Dam site, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dumped toxics for decades.
The proposal was seen as a belated move to bring environmental justice to the Columbia River’s Native American tribes, which have traditionally fished these waters about 40 miles east of Portland. The proposed Superfund listing follows years of pressure from Indigenous communities to clean up waters that have contaminated the river’s fish.
Rose Longoria from the Yakama Nations said the tribe is hopeful that after so many years, the EPA will finally get Bradford Island cleaned up.
She said the EPA needs to " fulfill their obligation to honor and protect the Columbia River and the resources that reside in the Columbia River.”
Oregon’s last Superfund site to be listed was North Ridge Estates, an asbestos-contaminated housing development in Southern Oregon, in 2011. If Bradford Island is added to the list, Oregon will have 13 sites listed with Superfund status. Superfund status allows the EPA to begin a process to clean up a contaminated site with the government’s highest legal standards and create the funds to do so.
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Jefferson County farmers are in the midst of a crisis. Climate change, drought, and tighter environmental regulations have combined to create big hurdles to profitable farming. Josh Bailey thinks he has a solution.
Bailey, the manager for North Unit Irrigation District, which supplies water to Jefferson County farmers, said the farming community’s water woes can be solved by pumping water out of Lake Billy Chinook. It sounds like a simple solution and it’s not a new idea but costs have always been prohibitive.
Startup costs to construct the facility could reach $350 million to $400 million, said Bailey, with the funds to pay for it sourced possibly from an infrastructure bill, drought relief bills or grants.
Then the annual power bill could be $6 million to $12 million, a challenge for a district that has an annual budget of $6 million.
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When most people think of Oregon, they think of the stunning city of Portland (see here for how to spend a weekend in Portland) or the spectacular national parks like Crater Lake National Park. These are in the more populated and popular western and central parts of Oregon. Eastern Oregon is largely empty with every low population and it is dominated by desert and arid climates. But this region of Oregon is also stunning and it is an undeveloped geothermal wonderland just waiting for travelers who enjoy discovering the more remote parts of the country.
In eastern Oregon by the Steens Mountains, there is little but the stunning beauty of nature. The mountains are majestic and the whole region is just full of interesting outdoor places to see and explore. This area is also a hot springs hotspot with several free (but largely undeveloped) hot springs bubbling to the surface. These are best for people with RVs or who are camping.
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Oregon water regulators were correctly held in contempt of court for failing to comply with an irrigation settlement deal, according to the state’s Court of Appeals.
The state’s Water Resources Department must also pay more than $150,000 in litigation expenses to several Harney County irrigators who filed a lawsuit to enforce the agreement, the appellate court said.
Sarah Liljefelt, attorney for the plaintiffs, said she wishes the contempt case hadn’t been necessary to get OWRD to follow through on its obligations and bring regulatory certainty for irrigators.
“I hope the contempt action will bring the department back to the table to give finality as to how and how not it will regulate water in the future,” she said.
The dispute stems from the agency’s enforcement of water rights along the Silvies River and the Foley Slough, which flows from it.
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Turnout for a recent meeting crowded the Sisters Building in Deschutes County with close to 600 people.
Hard-working pickups jammed the parking lot at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds for a recent meeting last month. By 7 p.m., the Sisters Building filled wall to wall with farmers, and ranchers, and the people who support them, with another ring of people standing around the sides of the room.
"I felt very supported," says JoHanna Symons of Symons Beef Company, who organized the event. "People really want something to change."
People at the meeting want to change the Habitat Conservation Plan which outlines how water in the Deschutes Basin gets shared between irrigators and threatened or endangered species.
Farmers in Central Oregon saw precious water reserved for habitat this year while the drought cut their production to one third of normal. The water shortage forced ranchers to sell their cattle earlier and lighter than normal.
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If you have heard the crackle of stale, yellow grass beneath your feet this summer, you’re not alone. Nearly 100% of Oregon is currently in severe drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor. Since 2015 Oregon has experienced drought each and every summer, the severity of which continues to increase as global temperatures rise.
Gov. Brown has responded to Oregon’s drought by ordering government agencies to stop watering lawns. Large institutions like Oregon State University have also cut back on water consumption by installing low-flow faucets and toilets; watching water-meter usage to spot leaks; and installing rainwater-catch basins in newer buildings and an irrigation control system across campus to measure humidity, temperature and evaporation rate.
“All Oregon State University employees and students can contribute by conserving the state’s dwindling water supply within the operation of our campuses, centers and offices,” said OSU Interim President Becky Johnson in a prepared statement.
In the meantime, Oregon universities are taking their own steps to conserve water. This year 13 researchers from OSU’s College of Engineering — in partnership with the University of Washington — are participating in AgAID, a $20 million federal effort to develop artificial intelligence to address farming’s biggest problems, including diminishing water supplies caused by climate change.
One thing OSU’s program and Olea Analytics has in common? Big data.
“We are bringing in algorithms and data science as part of the puzzle,” says Alan Fern, professor of computer science and lead investigator representing Oregon State. “Water management is one of the most significant thrusts. A lot of it is setting up good data pipelines for what is there.”
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